Social Media

How to Defeat the Social Media Skeptics in Your Company

For those trying to get a social media campaign going in their company, they'll often have to deal with naysayers that question the value.

Former Kodak CMO Jeff Hayzlett says dealing with the non-believer is all part of "running the gauntlet." He believes it so strongly that he even wrote a book with the same title that promises to teach people how to push forward with their social media dreams.

Hayzlett spoke with Bryan Elliott on Behind the Brand about what it takes to engage audiences, and how to explain to those number crunchers that social is valuable. For one, he said talking about return on investment is overhyped.

"I say to them, 'What's your return on ignoring?'" Hayzlett said. "If you're engaged with your customers, and you have an operation that is doing what it's supposed to be doing, then you're going to make money."

Hayzlett said at this point, not engaging via social media is just a way to lose money. He broke down his social media strategy, calling it "the four E's."

"Get engaged, start doing it. Start being your own Chief Listening Officer," Hayzlett said. "When you educate people about your product, they get excited, and then start to evangelize by becoming brand ambassadors."

If you have any comments about how to buck the social media naysayers, tweet them at @BryanElliott, or leave a comment below.

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